Educational  Scries 


n m 

£QHiA 


KOREA 


SCHOOL  AT  CHONO-JU,  KOREA 
(temporary  quarters) 


Price,  3 cents;  30  cents  a dozen. 


Women's  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
Room  8 1 8,  156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 

1908 


SCHOOLS  IN  KOREA 

Under  the  care  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A. 

Theological  Seminary  at  Pyeng  Yang. 

College  at  Pyeng  Yang. 

Academies  : 

For  young  men,  at  Seoul,  Pyeng  Yang,  Whang  Ju,  Syen  Chyun, 
Weju  and  Taiku. 

For  young  women,  at  Seoul,  Pyeng  Yang,  Syen  Chyun,  Weju 
and  Fusan. 

Medical  College  at  Seoul.  Student  assistants  are  employed  in  hospi- 
tals at  other  stations. 

Nurses’  Training  School  at  Seoul. 

Primary  Schools.  457  under  mission  control,  boys  and  girls  being  in 
separate  schools. 


Comparative  Educational  Statistics 
showing  increasing  demand  for  education 


1904 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

rheological  Seminary 

J No.  of  Schools  . 
\ No.  of  Pupils  . . 

I 

7 

1 

20 

I 

43 

1 

75 

1 

98 

College 

J No.  of  Schools  . 
\ No.  of  Pupils  . . 

1 

12 

1 

15 

Academies  .... 

f No.  of  Schools  . 
\ No.  of  Pupils  . . 

4 

184 

5 

269 

7 

380 

9 

717 

1 1 

7^1 

Primary  Schools  . . 

f No.  of  Schools  . 
\ No.  of  Pupils  . . 

«3 

1271 

1 15 

18  ?7 

208 

3911 

344 

6822 

457 

11.480 

The  statistical  year  closes  June  30th. 

It  has  been  impossible  to  get  full  and  accurate  statistics,  but  the 
above  are  approximately  correct,  and  will  serve  to  show  the  growth  of 
the  work.  All  the  schools  are  Christian,  and  have  been  organized  only 
when  the  Korean  Christians  have  requested  them.  They  are  attended 
by  but  few  from  non-Christian  homes. 


2 


Presbyterian  Schools  and  Colleges  in  Korea. 


BV  MRS.  ERNEST  FREEMAN  HALL. 

KOREA  has  so  long  been  called  the  “Hermit  Kingdom,”  so  long 
been  ignored  and  passed  by,  by  the  busy  Western  World,  that 
it  seems  difficult  to  realize  her  as  awake  to  the  desire  for  a 
knowledge  of  the  things  that  other  nations  know,  and  as 
reaching  out  for  the  treasures  of  learning  which  she  has  not  possessed. 
Not,  as  some  have  supposed,  sunk  in  apathy  all  these  years,  but  sitting 
with  her  face  turned  from  the  turmoil  and  clash  of  nations  without, 
she  has  remained  lost  in  contemplation  of  the  Golden  Ages  known 
when  Japan  was  a nation  of  barbarians,  and  she  herself  at  the  feet 
of  China  drew  knowledge  and  inspiration  from  that  beneficent  teacher. 
Rudely  awakened  from  this  dream  of  the  past  to  the  tarnished  glories 
and  failing  powers  of  the  present,  the  scholars  among  her  older  men 
are  saying,  “What  shall  we  do?  We  must  educate  our  sons  and  daugh- 
ters in  the  new  learning and  her  young  men,  with  their  heritage  also 
of  minds  trained  through  centuries  in  the  Chinese  language  and  Con- 
fucian  thought,  have  sprung  to  the  front,  eagerly  turning  to  the  new, 
and  ready  to  do  anything  in  whatever  way  to  attain. 

More  than  ten  years  ago  the  old  Korean  examination  system  was 
abolished,  and  within  the  last  twenty  years  the  first  government  school 
for  young  men,  founded  on  Western  ideas,  with  English  and  American 
as  well  as  Korean  instructors,  was  established  by  the  Emperor.  A year 
or  two  ago  a still  more  radical  move  was  made,  in  the  establishment 
of  a large  girls'  boarding  school  in  Seoul,  under  the  patronage  of  one 
of  the  court  ladies  and  with  the  royal  sanction ; this,  although  it  has 
some  Christian  teachers,  both  native  and  foreign,  is  not,  of  course,  a 
( hristian  school.  Of  the  lower  schools,  up  to  the  present  the  govern- 
ment primary,  as  well  as  the  many  private  schools — for  boys  only — 
have  been  on  the  ancient  Chinese  model,  while  those  recently  established 
here  and  there  by  the  Japanese  with  text-books  and  teaching  in  that 
language,  are  not  likely  to  supply  very  rapidly  the  “Western  learning” 
in  the  primary  grades.  Therefore,  it  is  with  peculiar  interest  that, 
turning  to  the  educational  work  done  by  the  various  Protestant  mis- 

3 


sions,  we  see  its  rapid  advancement  from  small  beginnings,  and  note 
how  it  strives  with  ever  increasing  success  to  fill  the  highest  needs  of 
those  whose  lives  shall  go  to  form  the  new  Korea. 

Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  quoting  from  Lord  Bacon,  says  that  in 
education  must  first  be  made  “a  choice  of  knowledges,”  and  adds  that 
its  first  aim  is  to  teach  “how  to  live;”  and  in  Korea  to-day  the  great 
majority  of  the  thousands  who  are  looking  to  the  Missions  for  a 
modern  training  are  choosing  first  the  Bible  as  the  foundation  text- 
book, and  are,  therefore,  asking  for  themselves  or  for  their  children 
that  it  be  a Christian  education. 

We  are  more  nearly  concerned  in  the  limits  of  this  leaflet  with  our 
own  educational  work — that  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  in  this,  as  in  other  Missions,  we  find  that  it 
has  not  been  necessary  to  plant  schools  in  order  to  win  the  attention 
and  interest  of  the  heathen,  but  that,  as  it  is  one  of  America’s  boasts 
that  “the  Constitution  follows  the  flag,”  so  in  the  work  in  Korea — “the 
school  follows  the  church.”  “With  the  Missions  in  Korea,”  says  Dr. 
L'nderwood,  “the  aim  of  their  schools  has  not  been  so  much  to  use 
them  as  evangelistic  agencies,  but  rather  to  provide  a Christian  educa- 
tion for  the  children  of  Christians.”  With  this  aim  in  mind,  let  us 
look  over  the  work  which  we,  of  the  Church  at  home  and  abroad,  have 
been  doing  to  help  a nation  toward  the  light. 


SCHOOLS  FOR  YOUNG  MEN  AND  BOYS 

September,  1907,  saw  the  culmination  of  the 
Presbyterian  Theological  first  years  of  theological  work  in  Korea, 
Seminary  of  Korea.  when  the  first  class,  numbering  seven,  was 

Pyeng  Yang.  graduated,  after  completing  a five  years’ 

course.  During  this  time  these  men  had 
studied  at  Pyeng  Yang  three  months  of  every  year,  spending  the  other 
nine  in  practical  work  as  helpers  under  the  direction  of  the  missionary 
pastors  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  the  Seminary  being  the  product  not 
only  of  one  branch  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  of  the  four  Pres- 
byterian Missions  working  in  Korea — the  Australian,  Canadian,  Pres- 
byterian Church  South,  and  our  own,  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America.  These  four  Missions  have  been  from  the 
beginning  united  in  the  Council  of  Presbyterian  Missions  in  Korea, 
and  the  graduation  and  ordination  of  these  seven  men  was  followed 

4 


by  the  formation  of  the  Korean  Presbyterian  Church.  Of  the  newly 
ordained  men,  one  has  gone  out  as  the  first  missionary  of  the  Korean 
Presbyterian  Church  to  the  Christless  island  of  Quelpart  in  the  South, 
and  the  others  are  pastors  or  co-pastors  of  churches  or  in  charge  of 
large  country  districts,  proving  themselves  as  workmen  who  need  not 
to  be  ashamed.  There  was  no  graduating  class  in  1908,  but  of  the 
ninety-eight  students  in  the  Seminary  one  has  written,  “A  fine  body  of 
earnest  and  capable  men.”  Here  are  gathered  the  flower  of  the  Korean 
Church — the  men  who  shall  one  day  go  out  to  be  the  strength  of  the 
nation  in  its  new  exaltation  in  righteousness. 

The  College  in  Korea  may  be  said  to  be  still  in  the 
College,  elemental  stage,  although  college  work  has  been  carried 
Pyeng  Yang,  on  for  some  years  in  connection  with  the  academies  in 
both  Pyeng  Yang  and  Seoul.  May,  1908,  saw  the  first 
college  graduating  exercises  held  in  Pyeng  Yang,  when  Dr.  Baird 
preached  the  baccalaureate  sermon  as  the  crown  of  his  years  of  work, 
and  after  a masterly  address  by  Dr.  Gale  of  Seoul,  two  young  men, 
wearing  the  caps  and  gowns  which  stand  for  Western  learning,  received 
diplomas.  This  work  and  that  of  the  Academy  are  carried  on  jointly 
by  the  Presbyterian  and  Methodist  Missions  North,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  year  fifteen  young  men  were  in  the  College  Department. 

This  College  reports  organization  in  1901,  but  the 
Severance  Hospital  organization  was  but  a phase  in  the  development 
Medical  College,  of  a work  which  has  occupied  the  time  and  thought 

Seoul.  of  Dr.  Avison  for  many  years,  as  he  planned  for 

“the  instruction  of  Korean  Christian  young  men 
in  medical  science,  with  a view  to  raising  up  those  who  should,  in  the 
future,  carry  on  the  work  which  the  missionaries  could  no  more  than 
begin.”  Dr.  Avison  first  took  up  work  in  the  old  Government  Hospital, 
which  had  been  given  by  the  King  to  Dr.  Allen.  Later  it  was  thought 
best  to  remove  the  medical  work  entirely  from  government  control  and 
support,  and  to  place  it  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  and  Mission, 
and  in  1904  it  was  housed  in  a commodious  building  given  for  that 
purpose  by  Mr.  L.  H.  Severance,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  In  June,  1908, 
the  first  class,  numbering  seven,  was  graduated,  with  the  title  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine  and  Surgery.  There  were  present  representatives  of  the 
Korean  Government  and  of  the  royal  family;  Prince  Ito,  the  Japanese 
Resident-General,  and  members  of  his  staff;  the  foreign  diplomats  and 
many  guests.  Dr.  Gale  presided,  and  Prince  Ito  presented  the  diplomas 

5 


to  the  graduates,  who  wore  the  regulation  cap  and  gown  over  their 
own  native  costume.  Dr.  Avison  invested  them  with  the  hood,  and  on 
the  following  day  the  Korean  Government  granted  them  medical  certifi- 
cates, the  first  ever  given  in  the  Empire.  These  graduates  are  especially 
fine  young  men,  and  this  occasion  means  much  for  the  future  alleviation 
of  suffering  in  Korea. 

From  very  early  in  the  history  of  the  Station, 
John  D.  Wells  Training  educational  work  has  been  carried  on  in 
School  for  Christian  Seoul,  and  at  one  time  there  was  a boys’ 

Workers,  Seoul.  boarding  school,  the  predecessor  of  this,  which 

in  its  present  form  was  organized  in  1901, 
with  four  boys  in  attendance,  the  number  increasing  to  six  during  the 
first  year.  It  has  had  a steady  growth  since  the  beginning,  and  in  1906 
the  completion  of  the  much-needed  new 
building,  a memorial  to  Rev.  John  D. 

Wells,  D.D.,  for  nearly  fifty  years  a mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  gave 
the  long-desired  opportunity  for  expan- 
sion. The  enrollment  for  1907-1908  was 
126,  with  five  graduates.  Mr.  E.  H.  Miller, 
the  Principal,  writes : :‘Much  progress  has 
been  made  toward  self  support,  every 
pupil  paying  a matriculation  fee  and  a 
small  tuition.”  This  school,  occupying 
as  it  does  an  important  strategic  position 
in  the  capital,  must  of  necessity  be  of 
large  influence,  and  the  present  equip- 
ment is  rapidly  becoming  wholly  inade- 
quate. The  following  incident,  quoted 
by  Mr.  F.  S.  Miller,  illustrates  the  kind  of  material  found  among 
Korean  students. 

“About  1905,”  he  writes,  “a  boy  came  to  me  in  Seoul,  and  asked 
to  be  allowed  to  enter  our  boarding  school.  He  was  very  ignorant,, 
and  had  done  nothing  but  cut  grass  and  weed  fields  all  his  life  up  to 
his  fourteenth  year.  Funds  were  short,  and  I told  him  we  could  not 
take  him  in,  that  he  was  too  ignorant  for  his  age  to  enter.  He  said,  ‘If 
I study  the  Thousand  Character  Classic  before  next  fall,  will  you  enter 
me?’  I said  ‘Yes,’  thinking  it  would  at  least  be  a good  test,  one  he 
would  not  stand,  for  he  was  not  promising.  A year  after,  he  returned, 
and  had  committed  the  whole  thousand  characters  to  memory.  He 

6 


TRAINING  SCHOOL,  SEOUL 


entered  the  school  and  studied  faithfully  until  the  school  was  closed 
several  years  later.  There  being  no  school  for  the  smaller  boys  to 
attend,  he  organized  the  West  Gate  Day  School  and  taught  it,  making 
his  living  as  janitor  of  the  church.  In  the  meantime,  he  continued  his 
studies,  and  married  a bright  little  woman,  whom  he  educated  after 
they  were  married.  Then  he  became  Dr.  Underwood’s  helper,  and 
is  now  Elder  Song,  soon  to  be  ordained  to  the  ministry,  after  complet- 
ing a full  course  in  the  Theological  Seminary — a ‘wood  boy’  made  into 
an  educated  minister  of  the  Gospel.  That  is  the  object — one  object^- 
of  our  schools.” 

This  school,  from  its  modest  beginning  in  the 
Academy  for  Boys,  few  boys  who  came  to  Dr.  Baird  to  be  taught 
Pyeng  Yang.  more  than  ten  years  ago,  has  had  a constant 

growth  in  usefulness  and  influence,  and  from  the 
ancient  capital  of  Pyeng  Yang  its  power  is  felt  not  only  through  the 
northern  provinces,  but  to  the  southward  as  well,  wherever  its  pupils 
have  gone  out  to  give  of  what  they  have  received  to  the  many  who 
need.  The  present  building  was  completed  in  1901,  and  the  first  class 
was  graduated  in  1904.  This  building,  long  outgrown  and  crowded  to 
the  fullest  capacity,  has  seen  successive  and  successful  years  of  a Chris- 
tian education  that  fulfills  the  aim  of  the  institution,  as  written  by  Dr. 
Baird  in  1904:  “If  the  most  of  our  Christian  youth  can  be  retained  and 
molded  into  efficient  workers,  we  cannot  hope  for  a more  powerful 
right  arm  of  Christian  usefulness.”  Throughout  this  time  the  board- 
ing pupils  have  been  nearly  all  professing  Christians,  or  have  become 
Christians  after  entering  the  school. 

There  has  been  carried  on  also  a manual  training  department, 
which  enables  about  half  of  the  students  to  support  themselves  in  school. 
This  department,  however,  is  unable  to  receive  all  who  wish  to  enter, 
and  many  poor  boys  are  disappointed.  Of  one  of  these,  Mrs.  Bern- 
heisel  writes: 

“A  young  man  from  Mr.  Bernheisel’s  country  work  came  in  last 
spring.  He  did  not  have  the  money  to  pay  his  expenses,  and  could  not 
be  admitted  to  the  work  department.  He  came  to  consult  his  pastor. 
There  seemed  to  be  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to  go  home.  He  is  a big, 
tall  fellow,  but  the  tears  could  not  but  come  as  he  thought  of  not  being 
able  to  study.  Then  the  pastor  thought  he  might  make  straw  rope,  to 
be  used  in  the  mud  walls  of  the  new  house.  Some  money  was  ad- 
vanced to  buy  the  straw,  and  so  he  started  in  business,  and  by  making 
straw  rope  and  hauling  mud  from  the  river,  he  was  able  to  make  enough 
to  help  himself  through  the  school  term.  He  is  only  one  of  many  who 
are  eager  for  an  education.” 


7 


The  union  with  the  Methodist  Academy,  begun  in  the  year  1905- 
1906,  has  been  successful,  and  the  building  of  the  Methodist  Science 
Hall  has  been  a help  in  the  congested  condition  of  the  school,  where 
the  Principal  sometimes  entered  his  class  room  to  find  not  only  all 
available  space  filled,  but  “the  space  about  the  windows  on  the  roof 
outside  occupied  with  the  overflow.” 

The  Korean  churches  aid  the  Academy  materially  by  substantial 
contributions,  increasing  year  by  year  as  the  need  grows.  With  the 
beginning  of  college  work,  a reorganization  was  effected,  and  the  gradu- 
ating class  of  the  Academy  became  the  sophomore  class  of  the  college. 

The  school  in  Weju,  at  the  extreme  north  of  Korea, 
Weju  Academy  on  the  Yalu  River,  has  from  the  first  been  full  of 
for  Boys.  interest.  It  grew  out  of  the  demand  of  the  nearly  five 
thousand  Christians  of  the  district  for  an  academy 
for  their  sons.  Throughout  this  northern  country  are  enterprising  peo- 
ple, who  travel  widely.  They  knew  of  higher  schools  and  academies 
in  other  places,  and  desired  for  their  children  like  advantages.  The 
Mission  reluctantly  told  the  eager  seekers  that  there  were  not  funds 
available  for  such  a school.  Undaunted,  the  prosperous  Christian  busi- 
ness men  provided  an  academy  building,  with  money  for  its  expenses, 
and  asked  tor  a missionary  to  be  appointed  as  teacher  and  superin- 
tendent of  the  plant.  The  Mission  being  unable  to  grant  this  request, 
a graduate  of  the  Pyeng  Yang  Academy  was  secured  in  1906  to  start 
a school  of  the  same  pattern  in  Weju,  and  began  it  with  two  other 
graduates  as  assistants  and  an  instructor  in  Japanese.  In  1908  this 
Academy  is  reported  as  having  made  steady  and  satisfactory  progress 
and  having  an  attendance  of  fifty.  Another  academy  has  been  started 
by  Korean  Christians  at  Whang  Ju  with  sixty  pupils,  and  two  others 
in  nearby  places  are  to  be  begun  this  fall  (1908). 

This  school  closed  its  fifth  year  of  Christlike 
School  for  the  Blind,  work  in  1908.  with  seven  pupils.  In  1907,  the 
Pyeng  Yang.  hymn  book  and  the  New  Testament  in  the  point 
system  were  completed,  and  will  bring  light  to 
many  darkened  hearts.  The  main  study  is  the  New  Testament. 

This  Academy  was  opened  in  the  fall  of  1906,  and 
Boys’  Academy,  has  had  two  prosperous  years,  in  1907  reporting  an 
Syen  Chyun.  attendance  of  forty  to  fifty;  in  1908,  eighty  students, 
who  have  done  good  work.  The  spirit  of  “liberty” 
so-called,  which  is  awakening  throughout  the  North,  caused  a disturb- 

8 


ance  when  the  boys  found  they  were  not  allowed  to  choose  their  own 
curriculum,  but  the  removal  of  a few  leaders  made  them  pause  to  con- 
sider, and  the  year  was  brought  to  a successful  close. 

Although  the  Koreans  through  the  North — 
The  Hugh  O’Neill,  Jr.,  generally  speaking,  a more  thrifty  and  well- 
Boys’  Industrial  to-do  class  than  those  in  the  South — are  able 
School  and  Farm,  to  finance  their  own  educational  work,  and  have 
Syen  Chyun.  proved  over  and  over  again  their  willingness 

to  do  so,  yet,  as  a missionary  in  the  North  has 
written : “A  school  run  by  Mission  money  and  controlled  by  the  Mis- 
sion is  necessarvr : first,  in  order  to  keep  a better  grip  on  the  educational 
situation ; secondly,  because  there  are  hosts  of  poor  boys,  the  best 
material  for  strong  church  workers,  who  cannot  get  an  education  unless 
some  system  of  furnishing  work  whereby  they  can  earn  money  enough 
to  live  and  study  is  provided.”  Such  an  industrial  school  has  been  made 
possible  in  Syen  Chyun  by  the  generous  gift  of  Mrs.  O’Neill,  of  New 
York,  and  it  is  hoped  to  have  it  in  operation  in  the  fall  of  1908. 

In  the  large  southern  city  of  Taiku  was  felt,  as 
Boys’  Academy,  elsewhere,  the  need  of  school  work  for  the  older  boys 
Taiku.  and  young  men,  “the  most  promising  material  in  the 
bounds  of  the  Church,  the  future  hope  of  its  strong 
and  enduring  establishment,”  and  in  May,  1906,  an  academy  was  organ- 
ized with  twenty-seven  young  men  in  attendance,  who  supported  them- 
selves during  the  ten  weeks  of  the  first  term.  The  following  fall  it 
was  re-opened  with  an  enrollment  of  forty-eight,  and  ran  through  eight 
months  of  the  year.  In  the  fall  of  1908,  the  best  year  yet  is  reported, 
fifty-two  young  men  being  on  the  roll,  all  Christians  and  recommended 
by  the  missionary  pastors  of  the  various  districts  connected  with  the 
station.  The  students  were  all  self-supporting,  work  being  provided 
for  a few  to  help  them  eabn  their  tuition.  The  large  proportion  of 
these  students  are  from  the  poorer  classes,  and  all  are  anxious  to  be- 
come useful  men.  The  much-needed  new  academy  building  was  com- 
pleted this  fall  (1908),  and  the  future  of  education  in  this  city  is  very 
bright. 


9 


SCHOOLS  EOR  YOUNG  WOMEN  AND  GIRLS. 

This  school,  organized  in  1906  in  connection  with 
Training  School  for  the  Severance  Hospital,  Seoul,  in  1908  graduated 
Nurses,  Seoul.  five  nurses,  who  received  caps  in  token  of  ability 
in  their  profession.  Under  the  superintendence 
of  Miss  Esther  L.  Shields,  this  school  is  growing  in  usefulness  and 
efficiency,  and  is  destined  to  fill  a great  need  among  the  Koreans,  igno- 
rant as  they  are  of  the  laws  of  health  and  hygiene  and  of  proper  care 
for  the  suffering. 

This  school  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  Korea,  having 
Yun-Mot-Kol  been  organized  in  1888,  under  the  care  of  Miss 

Women’s  Academy,  Doty,  with  but  a few  pupils.  It  was  hampered 
Seoul.  for  years  b)T  insufficient  accommodations,  but  not- 

withstanding has  progressed  and  wielded  a wide 
influence  among  the  girls  of  the  Christian  homes  in  and  around  Seoul, 
and  of  those  who  came  not  already  church  members,  many  have  been 
baptized.  The  curriculum  has  included  Bible  study,  English,  Korean 
and  church  history,  astronomy,  arithmetic,  geography,  physiology,  read- 
ing and  Chinese;  also  such  useful  branches  as  sewing,  knitting  and 
embroidery.  During  the  years  many  of  the  pupils  have  married  Chris- 
tian young  men,  and  have  gone  out  to  make  homes  of  their  own,  which 
are  as  lights  in  their  communities,  and  some  of  the  advanced  pupils 
have  been  used  as  teachers  of  the  lower  classes.  Three  girls  were 
graduated  in  1907  and  five  in  1908.  The  old  industrial  department  has 
now  been  dropped,  and  a charge  is  made  for  board  and  tuition,  and 
there  are  none  of  the  pupils  whose  parents  or  friends  do  not  gladly  pay 
the  full  amount  charged.  Of  the  opening  in  the  fall  of  1908,  Mrs.  E. 
H.  Miller  writes:  “The  Women’s  Academy  opened  the  first  day  with 
every  room  full,  and  the  number  exceeded  the  whole  enrollment  of  last 
year.  We  have  had  to  refuse  entrance  to  a large  number  of  girls  for 
lack  of  room.  The  tuition  has  been  raised  from  three  to  four  ven 
($1.50  to  $2.00)  a month.”  “There  are  so  many  fine  bright  girls  among 
the  new  arrivals  this  year,  and  everything  has  started  off  well.”  The 
aim  of  the  school,  like  other  mission  schools  in  Korea,  is  “to  train 
Christian  teachers,  Bible  women  and  home-keepers.”  Speaking  of  this 
school  and  the  Wells  Training  School,  Mrs.  Miller  says:  “In  both 
schools  all  are  Christians.  We  cannot  take  in  all  the  Christian  boys 
and  girls  who  are  able  and  glad  to  pay  all  we  ask.” 

10 


PUPILS  OF  WOMEN’S  ACADEMY,  SEOUL 

This  long-desired  school,  under  the  name, 
Seminary  for  Women,  '‘Advanced  School  for  Girls  and  Women,” 
Pyeng  Yang.  opened  November,  1903,  with  twenty-three  from 

the  country  and  twenty  from  the  city  in  attend- 
ance, including  both  boarding  and  day  pupils.  These  were  to  be,  as 
the  announcement  sent  to  the  country  churches  stated,  from  sixteen 
to  thirty-five  years  of  age,  “would  be  expected  to  furnish  their  own 
food,  bedding,  clothing  and  books,  and  to  pay  a small  tuition  fee,”  and 
the  term  was  for  three  months.  Those  who  came  were  mainly  church 
members,  and  the  rest  from  Christian  homes,  most  of  the  girls  being 
brought  by  their  fathers,  who  had  been  asking  that  their  daughters 
might  have  such  an  opportunity — showing  the  revolution  already 
worked  in  Korean  thought  by  Christianity.  The  young  girls  wrere 
placed  in  the  boarding  department,  under  a Korean  matron,  the  young 

11 


married  women  and  widows,  one  of  whom  was  fifty  years  of  age,  in 
another  house,  where  they  planned  among  themselves  for  boarding  and 
housekeeping,  the  idea  in  the  missionaries’  minds  being  “not  so  much 
to  give  them  ‘book-learning,’  but  to  teach  them  to  be  better  home- 
makers.” However,  the  curriculum  included  the  Bible,  Christian  tracts, 
arithmetic,  geography,  physiology,  hygiene,  composition  and  singing  for 
the  advanced  classes,  and  some  of  the  Gospels,  geography,  reading, 
writing,  arithmetic,  composition  and  singing  for  the  rest.  Since  this 
encouraging  beginning,  the  school  has  shown  a steady  growth  in  spite 
of  the  lack  of  adequate  buildings  and  equipment.  In  the  fall  of  1906,  a 
union  with  the  Methodists  was  begun,  which  “resulted  in  additional 
teaching  by  missionaries  and  a sharing  of  expenses,  much  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  work.”  The  Presbyterian  boarding  department  has  now 
become  “a  model  Korean  home,  where  the  girls  are  taught  by  the 
Korean  matron  that  even  mud  walls  and  floors  can  be  kept  clean,  and 
their  food  prepared  in  a sanitary  way.”  “The  purpose  is  not  to  for- 
eignize  the  students,  but  to  improve  their  environment.”  In  1908,  the 
first  class,  numbering  five,  was  graduated,  a great  event  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  women  in  Korea. 

This  school  for  women  “past  school-age,”  or  who 
School  for  Women,  cannot  be  spared  from  home  for  daily  study,  has 
Pyeng  Yang.  been  carried  on  for  a number  of  years;  it  meets 
twice  a week  from  October  to  May,  studying 
geography,  arithmetic  and  Bible.  During  the  past  year  (1907-1908) 
forty-eight  students  were  enrolled,  embracing  with  much  joy  this  cov- 
eted opportunity. 

This  institution  is  yet  young,  having  been  opened  in 
Girls’  Academy,  the  fall  of  1907,  after  being  long  looked  forward  to 
Syen  Chyun.  by  the  j'oung  women  of  the  province.  In  1908,  it 
closed  a successful  five  months  of  study,  with  forty 
enrolled,  ranging  in  age  “from  women  thirty-five  3rears  old  to  little  girls 
just  graduated  from  the  primary  schools.” 

This  school  has  iust  closed  its  second  year.  It 
Girls’  Academy,  is  maintained  and  taught  by  Koreans,  with 
Weju.  some  help  from  the  Syen  Chyun  missionaries. 

The  enrollment  was  thirty,  and  the  missionaries 
report  “splendid  progress.” 


1 2 


September,  1908,  saw  the  beginning  of  this 
Girls’  Boarding  School,  inuch-needed  school,  which,  although  seem- 
Fusan.  ingly  a new  institution,  is  really  the  culmina- 

tion of  years  of  work  and  planning.  In  1896, 
Mrs.  Irvin  began  a night  school  with  eleven  little  girls,  who  waited  one 
evening  after  prayer  meeting  and  asked  if  they  might  learn  to  read 
the  Bible.  From  homes  where  all  day  they  were  busy  they  came  with 
unflagging  interest,  little  untrained,  unkempt  girls  at  first,  some  not 
even  Christians,  learning  to  read  and  sew  and  to  study  the  Bible,  and 
gradually  there  was  a change,  as  the  teacher  wrote,  in  “lives,  faces  and 
actions.”  From  that  time  this  quiet,  unheralded  work  has  been  carried 
on  two  or  three  evenings  a week,  a steady  foundation-building  class, 
with  at  times  an  attendance  of  forty,  whose  influence  cannot  be  mea- 
sured. 

“Whole  families,"  writes  the  faithful  teacher,  “have  come  in 
through  the  influence  of  the  little  girls  in  the  night  school.  I might 
mention  Pobai,  who  is  now  one  of  my  teachers.  She  prayed  for  years 
for  'Ouri  Pumo'  (my  parents'),  and  at  last,  when  she  could  have  been 
made  a full  member  of  the  church,  said  she  wanted  to  wait  for  them, 
firmly  believing  that  her  prayers  would  be  answered.  'Hananim  dut 
tairo’  (according  to  the  will  of  God) — they  were  answered,  and  father, 
mother  and  sister  made  with  her  a happy  quartette  on  a Christmas 
morning  when  admitted  to  the  church.” 

From  this  school  some  have  gone  out  to  make  Christian  homes, 
and  from  among  those  who  remain  three  have  been  selected  for  a 
special  training  as  teachers  of  other  Korean  girls  who  have 
not  had  their  years  of  opportunity.  Beginning  in  the  fall 
of  1907,  they  have  undertaken  a three  years’  normal  course, 
spending  every  day  from  half-past  eight  until  five  or  six 
in  study,  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  teacher,  living  together, 
with  the  mother  of  one  as  matron,  and  are  full  of  enthusiasm,  working 
hard  over  their  advanced  course.  During  the  first  year  of  this  training 
they  have  carried  on  a successful  kindergarten  on  Sunday  mornings, 
while  Mrs.  Irvin  was  teaching  the  mothers.  This  normal  work  has 
been  continued  for  a year,  since  the  gift  of  Mr.  L.  H.  Severance  has 
made  it  possible  for  Mrs.  Irvin  at  last  to  have  a home  for  her  school, 
completed  this  fall  and  destined  to  become  a centre  of  influence  for 
the  whole  Southern  Province.  One  of  the  aims  of  this  school  will  be 
the  training  of  Christian  teachers  for  the  ever-increasing  church  schools 
throughout  this  part  of  the  country  and  in  the  nearby  towns,  as  well 

13 


as  to  make  it  possible  for  the  girls,  hitherto  bound,  even  more  than  in 
the  North,  by  relentless  custom,  to  ignorance,  to  have  a new  outlook, 
and  even  in  the  midst  of  the  trammels  of  old  ideas  to  grow  into  a beau- 
tiful Christian  womanhood. 


COUNTRY  SCHOOL  NEAR  SEOUL 
COMING  TO  GREET  PASTOR  AND  HIS  WIFE 

PRIMARY  SCHOOLS. 

In  the  small  space  at  command,  it  is  impossible  to  do  more  than 
briefly  to  touch  upon  the  subject  of  our  Presbyterian  Primary  Schools, 
which  have  spread  into  eleven  of  the  thirteen  provinces  of  Korea,  and 
which  now  number  over  450,  including  more  than  11,000  pupils,  all  but 
a few  being  entirely  self-supporting. 

Very  early  in  the  history  of  the  Mission,  primary  teaching  was 
begun  and  carried  on  with  constant  advance  in  numbers,  but  the  more 
rapid  growth  has  been  in  recent  years,  as  will  be  seen  by  a glance  at 
the  table  of  statistics.  In  the  past,  the  organizing  of  most  of  these 
schools,  especially  in  the  country  places,  has  been  exceedingly  simple— 
the  Christians  of  a country  group  or  church,  deciding  that  they  must 
have  a school — or  two  schools — that  their  boys  and  perhaps  the  girls 

14 


as  well  may  be  taught,  subscribe  what  they  can,  find  a place,  often  part 
of  the  church  building  itself,  secure  the  best  teacher  possible,  and  the 
school  begins.  The  difficulty  has  lain,  and  still  lies,  in  the  scarcity  of 
suitable  teachers,  which  need  the  various  academies  and  normal  classes 
are  striving  to  fill  as  rapidly  as  possible,  but  which  they  are  still  far 
from  able  to  meet.  Already,  especially  in  the  North,  the  situation  is 
changing,  and  the  need  for  trained  and  consecrated  men  and  women 
greater  than  ever;  not  only  with  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  and  its  over- 
turning power,  and  because  of  the  political  troubles,  but  also  with  the 
coming  in  of  new  ideas  and  the  beginnings  of  the  dawn  of  an  outside 
world  upon  heathen  communities  comes  an  agitation,  an  unrest  in  the 
very  air,  which  brings  up  new  problems  for  the  Christian  schools  to 
face,  a testing  of  their  principles  such  as  has  not  been  known  hitherto. 
In  the  more  conservative  South  this  is,  as  yet,  not  so  much  the  case.  A 
rapid  survey  of  the  schools  in  the  various  districts  will  suffice  to  show 
the  present  situation  (1908). 

The  Church  Primary  Schools  are  ever  increasing,  but  with 
Fusan.  so  few  workers  as  are  at  present  at  this  station  there  can  be 
no  proper  supervision.  The  people  are  vety  poor,  and  there 
are  few  Christian  teachers.  There  are  many  of  the  old  heathen  schools 
throughout  the  district,  which  exercise  a decided  unchristian  influence; 
some,  however,  that  desire  to  understand  and  model  their  heathen 
schools  after  the  Christian  pattern.  A missionary  writes:  “They  are 
sending  in  from  all  quarters,  asking  for  teachers  to  come  and  teach 
the  Christian  children.  Heathen  schools  also  want  Christian  teachers.” 
In  this  conservative  city  the  missionaries  are  glad  to  report 
Taiku.  that  “about  one-third  of  all  the  Korean  school  children  in  this 
whole  city”  are  gathered  in  the  Church  Primary  Schools,  and 
that  throughout  the  province  are  some  sixty-five  schools,  all  self- 
supporting.  The  latter,  however,  are  very  primitive,  with  few  compe- 
tent teachers,  the  Christians  everywhere  “doing  the  best  they  can.” 

Educational  work  was  begun  in  the  Chong  Ju  district  in 
Chong  Ju.  1904.  but  the  station  is  as  yet  so  new  that  no  systematic 
oversight  has  been  possible.  The  country  schools  are  six, 
with  sixty  pupils.  The  school  work  in  Chong  Ju  City,  when  just  well 
started,  was  much  hindered  by  the  political  troubles,  when  the  insur- 
gents, having  seized  the  school  building,  the  self-supporting  school, 
which  had  been  taught  during  the  summer  by  a graduate  of  the  Wells 
Training  School  in  Seoul,  was  disbanded,  and  its  group  of  bright  young 

15 


PUPILS  AT  CHONG  JU 

men  scattered.  In  the  spring  of  1908,  however,  the  school  work  took 
a new  lease  of  life,  the  Koreans  increased  their  subscriptions,  and  an 
excellent  Christian  teacher  was  secured,  who  was  formerly  an  official 
and  speaks  Japanese  fluently.  The  village  also  deeded  a tiled  building 
to  the  school,  so  that  it  is  now  in  a flourishing  condition. 

An  interesting  incident  connected  with  the  city  school  work  here 
was  the  voluntary  organization,  by  the  boys  of  the  Christian  school,  of 
summer  night  schools  for  the  “wood-boys,”  little  lads  who  spend  their 
days  going  out  to  gather  fire  wood.  The  pupils  paid  the  expenses,  and 
were  taught  reading,  writing,  arithmetic  and  singing.  On  Wednesday 
and  Sunday  evenings  the  students  were  marched  in  good  order  to  the 
prayer  meeting  and  taught  reverent  behavior.  By  this  means  about 
thirty  boys  were  brought  under  the  influence  of  the  Gospel. 

The  primary  schools  in  and  around  Seoul  station,  opened  in 
Seoul,  the  early  days  of  the  Mission,  were  established  on  the  present 
plan  in  1900.  There  are  now  thirty-three  schools  in  this  dis- 
trict, with  nearly  one  thousand  pupils — all  self-supporting,  and  con- 

16 


nected  with  the  various  churches.  There  were  formerly  several,  under 
one  church,  which  were  partially  supported  by  Mission  funds.  In  1906 
these  funds  became  low.  and  the  missionary  pastor  told  the  church  that 
the  aid  must  gradually  decrease  until  it  ceased  entirely.  The  school 
committee,  of  young  men,  got  together  and  said  if  it  must  stop,  let  it 
he  ended  at  once — that  they  could  and  would  care  for  their  own  schools. 
They  took  up  a new  subscription  in  the  church,  to  which  all,  even  out 
of  poverty,  responded  gladly,  arranged  a new  and  better  course  of 
study,  and  took  a pride  in  becoming  self-supporting,  and  successfully 
so — showing  the  spirit  that  animates  the  Korean  Christian. 

As  we  go  farther  North,  we  meet  more  problems  in  the 
Chai  Ryong.  primary  school  work.  In  the  somewhat  newly  organized 
work  in  Chai  Ryong,  the  year  1907-1908  is  reported  as  a 
“year  of  crisis”  in  educational  affairs.  There  being  some  doubt  about 
the  authorized  course  of  study,  and  some  confusion  having  been  caused 
by  unbelievers  coming  into  the  schools  and  desiring  certain  things 
taught,  it  was  decided  that  the  authority  of  the  Presbyterial  Committee 
must  be  used,  and  that  this  committee  must  control  the  Church  schools, 
and  a provisional  curriculum  was  adopted,  awaiting  the  adoption  of  one 
bv  Presbytery.  The  following  were  decided  upon  as  the  “essentials  of 
a Christian  school,”  showing  the  stand  taken  by  Korean  Christians : 

“i.  The  local  School  Committee,  approved  by  pastor  and  session, 
or  elected  by  the  church,  with  consent  of  the  pastor  and  session,  is  to  be 
composed  of  baptized  Christians. 

“2.  The  teacher  must  be  approved  by  the  pastor  and  session  or 
by  the  helper. 

“3.  Schools  must  have'  daily  prayers. 

“4.  The  official  curriculum  must  be  followed.” 

Pyeng  Yang  reports  this  year  (1908)  a complete  re- 
Pyeng  Yang,  organization  of  the  city  Primary  and  Grammar  Schools, 
which  had  been  studying  in  buildings  connected  with  the 
five  churches  in  the  city,  the  boys’  preparatory  and  first-grades  to  have 
two  buildings  for  study,  each  of  the  other  primary  grades  to  have  one 
building,  and  the  grammar  grades  to  use  a new  building  near  the  Cen- 
tral Church.  A superintendent  (a  missionary)  and  an  assistant  super- 
intendent (an  elder  in  the  Central  Church)  have  been  appointed,  and 
twelve  teachers  elected,  graduates  of  the  Academy,  the  Night  School 
or  the  Normal  Class.  The  final  authority  is  with  the  School  Board, 
which  is  elected  or  appointed  by  the  various  church  sessions.  Last 

1 7 


year  twenty-eight  boys  were  graduated,  and  this  fall  there  will  be  over 
six  hundred  pupils.  The  girls'’  schools  are  under  a similar  arrangement. 
Mr.  McCune  writes : “We  are  hoping  by  this  effort  in  the  unification  of 
our  schools  to  increase  their  efficiency  many  fold,  and  to  turn  out  a 
product  that  the  whole  Church  and  nation  will  be  proud  of.”  These 
have  all  been  self-supporlmg  schools  for  three  or  four  years,  and  have 
been  sending  their  graduates  to  the  Academy  for  about  seven  years. 
Throughout  the  country  districts  about  Pyeng  Yang  the  primary  schools 
have  become  so  many  that  they  could  have  no  proper  oversight,  and 
many  new  problems  have  sprung  up.  The  Church  schools  are  superior 
to  all  others,  and  “exceedingly  popular  with  the  general  public.”  In 
one  school,  the  heathen  patrons  tried  to  make  it  a centre  of  political 
agitation,  and  the  authority  of  the  Christian  School  Committee  had  to 
be  exercised.  “This  illustrates,”  as  a missionary  writes,  “a  danger 
rather  than  a condition.  At  the  leaders’  class,  a determination  was 
made  to  have  the  schools  wholly  under  the  control  of  the  Church.” 

At  Syen  Chyun,  with  the  changes  that  are  in  the  air, 
Syen  Chyun.  there  is  this  year  (1908)  an  epidemic  of  primary  schools 
— what  one  missionary  has  called  an  “educational  revo- 
lution.” “Schools  spring  up  in  a night,”  he  writes,  “heathen  and  Chris- 
tian. The  Governor  starts  schools,  the  Magistrates  start  schools,  the 
township  officials  start  schools,  and  the  villages  start  schools.  Seven 
School  Boards  lay  hold  of  the  flowing  coat-tails  of  one  poor  teacher, 
salaries  have  gone  up,  and  the  Pyeng  Yang  graduate  is  the  man  of  the 
hour.” 

Here  at  Syen  Chyun,  as  in  the  Pyeng  Yang  district,  the  many  coun- 
try churches  have  self  supporting  Christian  primary  schools,  and  even 
as  far  North  as  Kang  Kai  there  are  ten  boys’  schools  and  three  girls’ 
schools — the  desire  for  education  spreading  everywhere. 


NORMAL  CLASSES. 

In  the  limits  of  this  leaflet,  we  can  but  touch  upon  this  important 
phase  of  our  Korean  work,  which  has  made  it  possible  to  carry  on 
schools  where  otherwise  there  could  have  been  none.  These  classes 
are  held  annually  or  semi-annually,  usually  in  the  station  centres,  and 
to  them  come  up  the  Christian  teachers  from  the  Church  schools  all 
over  the  country,  who,  many  of  them  far  from  j'oung,  and  yet  with  a 
great  desire  to  know,  and  to  impart  their  knowledge  to  the  youth  of 

18 


their  villages,  have  given  themselves  to  what  to  a less  consecrated  de- 
termination would  seem  a hopeless  task.  Men  to  whom  the  intricate 
Chinese  characters  are  as  an  open  page,  plod  patiently  over  simple  ex- 
amples in  arithmetic,  or  sit  spell-bound  before  the  first  revelations  of 
geography — to  come  out  in  triumph  at  last  with  the  subject  mastered. 

As  a pupil  of  the  Pyeng  Yang  Academy,  who  had  been  helping  in 
country  school  work  during  the  summer  vacation,  wrote  to  his  teacher: 
“Amid  many  things  to  be  thankful  to  God  for  is  this  fact  especially, 
that  the  teacher  here,  though  an  old  man,  and  one  who  might  be  sup- 
posed to  have  passed  the  age  for  learning  easily,  yet  in  the  midst  of 
many  labors  in  behalf  of  his  pupils,  has  studied  well,  and  mastered 
arithmetic  as  far  as  the  subject  of  fractions.  And  whereas,  during  the 
last  year’s  vacation,  I taught  the  pupils  here  in  arithmetic,  yet  now  I 
can  learn  much  from  him.  How  shall  we  not  thank  God  for  this  help 
of  His  Spirit?  When  I saw  what  he  had  done,  I knew  that,  however 
old  one  should  be,  and  however  difficult  the  study,  yet  if  he  should 
study  energetically  in  order  to  be  helpful  to  other  persons,  he  would 
receive  help  from  God,  and  there  would  be  nothing  that  he  cannot  do.” 

During  1908,  normal  classes  were  held  at  Seoul,  Pyeng  Yang  (union 
class  with  the  Methodists),  Taiku,  Chai  -Ryong,  Weju  (conducted  by 
Koreans),  and  Syen  Chyun.  In  the  last-named  place,  also,  a group  of 
teachers  from  nearby  schools  followed  a weekly  normal  course,  coming 
to  Syen  Chyun  every  Monday  evening  for  instruction ; while  in  Fusan, 
Mrs.  Irvin  has  conducted  the  daily  normal  class  already  referred  to. 
These  teachers  of  the  country  schools  in  Korea,  who  have  had  so  little 
opportunity,  are  willing  to  work  for  years  to  obtain  the  certificates  given 
at  the  completion  of  the  course,  and,  as  one  missionary  writes,  “realize 
that  it  is  a struggle  for  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  and  are  determined 
to  survive.” 


OTHER  CLASSES 

There  can  be  but  a word  as  to  the  various  other  educational 
instrumentalities  in  Korea — the  large  training  classes  for  leaders  and 
helpers,  and  for  Bible  women,  which  are  so  potent  a factor  in  the 
Church’s  life;  and  especially  the  Bible  Institutes,  held  annually  in  all 
the  station  centres,  and  also  at  selected  places  throughout  the  country 
churches,  to  which  the  Christians  throng  in  thousands,  to  spend  from 
ten  days  to  two  weeks  at  their  own  charges,  in  study  of  the  Word  of 

J9 


God.  All  these  classes,  while  perhaps  coming  properly  under  the  evan- 
gelistic work,  are  surely  educational  in  the  highest  sense.  As  Dr.  Mof- 
fett says  : “The  whole  Church  is  made  to  feel  the  results  of  these  classes, 
and  from  them  the  men  go  forth  with  an  enthusiasm  and  an  evangel- 
istic zeal,  coupled  with  a knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  which  enables 
them  to  become  intelligent  as  well  as  zealous  heralds  of  the  Gospel 
message.” 

Such  is,  in  brief,  the  story  of  Christian  education  in  Korea  to-day, 
and  may  we  not  say  of  it  all,  founded  as  it  is  on  the  study  of  God’s 
Word,  as  Dr.  Gale,  at  the  twentieth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of 
the  Mission,  in  1904,  said  of  the  Korean  and  the  Bible:  “Let  not  the 
political  situation  daunt  us;  all  things  are  possible;  let  not  the  conser- 
vatism of  the  nation,  let  not  its  ancient  hopeless  pedigree,  stand  in  the 
way;  there  will  new  days  come  with  the  universal  reading  of  the  Bible, 
and  the  decayed  heart  will  find  a cure,  and  the  eyes  will  see.” 


